Ham Leftovers: Ham in Port and Raisin Sauce

Comfort Food, Family Meal

Perfect for an autumn breakfast or brunch, this dish is excellent made with country ham or regular ham and a great use of holiday-meal leftovers. You can use leftover sweet potatoes for the waffles as long as they don’t have too many extra ingredients in them (no marshmallows, please). Otherwise boil, bake, or microwave a sweet potato (these are often mistakenly called yams in supermarkets) and mash it fresh. Just be sure it cools before you stir it into the batter.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

WAFFLES:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pinch each freshly grated nutmeg, ground cardamom, and ground ginger
• 3 large eggs, separated
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup Guinness or other stout or dark beer
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

HAM AND MAPLE SAUCE:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups ½-inch-diced leftover ham
• ⅓ cup chopped onion
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup leftover sauce from Baked Ham, Ham Stock, or homemade pork stock
• ¼ cup real maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped fresh chives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. WAFFLES: Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the egg yolks, milk, stout, bourbon, sweet potatoes, and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring until just combined.
2. Using a standing mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold them into the batter (it’s okay if a few streaks of egg white remain).
3. SAUCE: Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream, leftover sauce, maple syrup, and mustard. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
4. Meanwhile, bake the waffles as directed by the waffle iron manufacturer.
5. Top the waffles with the ham sauce, garnish with the chives, and serve.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS:

• Chopped ham steak; diced smoked pork chops or smoked pork loin (Canadian bacon); or slab bacon, cut into small chunks (pour off the grease before adding the cream). Cooking times may vary.

COOK’S NOTES:

• If you don’t have any stout or other dark beer, use light beer or even water. Maple syrup can be pricey, but the lower-grade, and often lower-priced, maple syrups are fuller in flavor. Feel free to go for the budget-friendly Grade B maple syrup for this recipe; its deeper flavor is a perfect match for the smoky ham.